Practical AI: Use a free AI assistant to size up PGE's rate request for your bill and outline a comment (Nov. 9)

Phil Harpster

1 day ago

7 min read

A digital electric meter seen through a round opening in a white cabinet, its display showing a kilowatt-hour reading — The kilowatt-hour number on your meter and your bill is the key figure for estimating what a rate change would cost you. Photo: Shixart1985 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Quick Read

Portland General Electric has asked Oregon regulators for an average 3.9% increase for homes, about $8.33 a month for a household using 780 kilowatt-hours, starting no earlier than July 2027.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission takes public comment by Zoom or phone at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, and in writing under docket UE 473, with comments sent by Dec. 1 included in staff's opening testimony.
A free AI chat assistant can turn the kilowatt-hour figures from your own bills into a rough estimate of what the change could cost you and help you outline a comment in your own words.
Leave account numbers and other personal details out of both the chat and the comment, which the commission says may be posted publicly, and submit the comment yourself.

This is Practical AI, the weekly Willamette News column on everyday ways to put AI tools to work. This week's task comes with a public hearing attached: figuring out what Portland General Electric's latest rate request could mean for your household, and telling regulators about it if you want to.

PGE is asking the state to let it collect $178.8 million more a year from Oregon customers, about 4.8% across all customer types combined, according to a Public Utility Commission news release. For homes, PGE says on its rate case page that the average increase would be 3.9%, or about $8.33 a month for a residential customer using 780 kilowatt-hours. The commission plans to decide in June 2027, and any approved rates would take effect by July 4, 2027.

An average is just that. Your own change depends on how much electricity you use, and the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board, a nonprofit that represents customers in rate cases, says the dollar increase would be larger in winter for homes that heat with electricity. An AI assistant can do the arithmetic with your real numbers in a few minutes, and it can help you organize your thoughts if you want to weigh in.

One check before you start: most of Salem is PGE territory, but parts of West Salem, downtown along the river, Keizer and northeast Salem are served by Salem Electric, a member-owned cooperative. Salem Electric customers are not part of this case. Your bill will show which utility you have.

Try it: estimate your own bill change in 15 minutes

Gather your last few PGE bills, paper or online. A full year is best, because summer and winter use can be very different. For each month, write down only two numbers: the kilowatt-hours you used and the total amount due.
Open a free AI chat assistant, such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot or Claude. Paste in just the list of months, kilowatt-hours and dollar totals. Leave out your name, address and account number.
Add this prompt: "I'm a Portland General Electric residential customer in Oregon. Here are my monthly electricity use in kilowatt-hours and my bill totals for the last [number] months: [paste the list]. PGE has asked regulators for an average 3.9% residential increase, which it says is about $8.33 a month for a home using 780 kWh, and it would not take effect before July 2027. Using only those numbers, give me a rough estimate of what that increase could add to my bill in my highest month, my lowest month and over a full year. Show your math, explain why my real change could be different from a simple 3.9% estimate, and list anything you would need to know to make it more accurate."
Read the explanation, not just the bottom line. A good answer will point out that your bill includes charges that may not change by the same percentage, and that rates for each customer type can change differently.
Compare the result with PGE's own example. If you use about 780 kilowatt-hours a month and the AI's estimate is far from $8.33, ask it to recheck its math.
Treat the number as a rough estimate. PGE's request can still change during the commission's review, and the final rates are set by the commission, not by PGE or any calculator.

Try it: outline a public comment in your own words

The commission's hearing notice says the Tuesday hearing opens at 6 p.m. with a short staff presentation, stays open until at least 6:30 p.m., and is recorded and transcribed for the case record. PGE and other parties will not make formal presentations, and commissioners will not take questions. Written comments also count. The notice asks for comments by Dec. 1, 2026, to be included in staff's opening testimony, and says comments received by Feb. 15, 2027, will be summarized in staff's rebuttal testimony.

Jot down, in your own words, how your power bill affects you. Maybe you heat with electricity, run medical equipment, own a small business or are on a fixed income.
Open the AI chat and use this prompt: "Help me outline a short public comment to the Oregon Public Utility Commission on PGE's rate case, docket UE 473. Ask me three or four questions first about how my power bill affects my household, then turn my answers into an outline with an opening line stating who I am and where I live by city only, two or three specific points, and a closing sentence saying what I want the commission to do. Keep it under 300 words, use plain language and do not add any facts I did not give you."
Answer its questions, then read the outline and cut anything that does not sound like you or that you cannot back up. Specific, personal details from your own life carry more weight than general complaints.
Write the final comment yourself and submit it through the commission's online public comment form, by email to PUC.PublicComments@puc.oregon.gov, or by phone at 503-378-6600 or 800-522-2404. Mention docket UE 473. If you plan to speak Tuesday, join the Zoom meeting or call (669) 254-5252, webinar ID 165 919 7751, by 6:30 p.m.

The comment form says comments can be up to 10,000 characters, but a few clear paragraphs are plenty. The form also asks people not to include account numbers or other personal information, and it warns that everything submitted may be posted on commission websites and be publicly visible.

Going one step further: let an agent gather your usage

Some AI tools can now sign in to websites and click through pages for you. OpenAI's help page for cloud browser in ChatGPT Work even lists "Sign in to your utility account and compare plans" as an example task. The feature is available on paid ChatGPT plans other than Free and Go, it pauses for you to sign in through a secure form, and OpenAI says ChatGPT does not store those sign-in credentials. Google's auto browse in Gemini in Chrome can also complete multi-step web tasks for adults in the U.S. with a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra plan.

You could ask one of these agents to open your PGE account and copy your monthly kilowatt-hours and bill totals for the past year into a table. If you try it, say in plain words that it should only read, and not change any settings, enroll in programs or make payments. Watch the task as it runs, and stop it if it opens a site you did not expect. Google warns that a web page can carry hidden instructions meant to trick an AI agent, and both companies say to review sensitive steps and check the results.

Keep the comment itself out of an agent's hands. Google says Gemini in Chrome asks for confirmation before submitting web forms or sending communications, but a public comment is your statement to regulators, and it should be one you wrote, read and sent yourself.

What to watch out for

Privacy: anything you paste may be stored by the AI company. You need only kilowatt-hours and dollar amounts. Never paste your account number, Social Security number, address or a photo of your full bill.
Accuracy: AI can get math wrong or describe rate rules that do not exist, and sound sure of itself. Check its arithmetic with a calculator and rely on PGE and the commission for the actual proposal.
Out-of-date information: AI tools are trained on older material and may not know about this case or may mix it up with past PGE increases. Paste in the current figures yourself, from the sources below.
Your voice: regulators read comments to learn how real customers are affected. A comment written mostly by AI, padded with claims you cannot support, is less useful than three honest sentences.
Billing problems: the comment form is not for service or billing complaints. For those, the commission points people to its Consumer Services Section, and PGE customer service is 503-228-6322 or 800-542-8818.

Sources

Public Utility Commission of Oregon: Oregon PUC invites public to comment on PGE's proposed rate increase, docket UE 473 (news release, accessed Nov. 9, 2026)

Public Utility Commission of Oregon: Notice of Public Comment Hearing, docket UE 473 (issued Sept. 16, 2026)

Public Utility Commission of Oregon: Submit Public Comment form (accessed Nov. 9, 2026)

Portland General Electric: The 2027 General Rate Case (accessed Nov. 9, 2026)

Oregon Citizens' Utility Board: Yet Again, PGE Requests Residential Rate Increase (Sept. 22, 2026)

Salem Electric: Service Territory (accessed Nov. 9, 2026)

OpenAI Help Center: Using cloud browser in ChatGPT (accessed Nov. 9, 2026)

Google Chrome Help: Ask Gemini in Chrome to complete tasks for you with auto browse (accessed Nov. 9, 2026)

Cover photo: Meter reading shows numbers indicating power usage, by Shixart1985, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)